The top 10 trending news stories of 2017, according to Google

From some of the most destructive hurricanes in recent memory to
rising tensions between the US and North Korea, 2017 has been a
whirlwind of a year.

On Wednesday, Google released its top trending searches of the
year. These are searches that had the highest spike this year
compared to 2016. Here are the year's top trending news stories
in search:

10. DACA

caption

DACA supporters protest at the White House in Washington.

source

Thomson Reuters

On September 5, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff
Sessions announced plans to end the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a controversial
Obama-era policy that shields from deportation nearly 800,000
young immigrants living in the country illegally after being
brought to the US as minors.

The move drew backlash from Democrats and immigration activists,
but lauded by many Republicans and those who believe US
immigration laws are too lax.

DACA recipients are still in limbo as Congress has
not yet agreed on a permanent legislative solution. Democratic
Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham reintroduced
the bipartisan Dream Act in
September, but it hasn't gained much traction.

The young immigrants are likely to lose their protected status by
March if nothing is done.

9. April the Giraffe

The 40-minute video of a giraffe giving birth at Animal Adventure
Park in New York went viral in April.

At least 1.2 million people watched the Adventure Park's
YouTube streaming of the event. The newborn was Animal Adventure
Park's first giraffe calf.

8. Hurricane Maria

caption

Marta Sostre Vazquez wades into the San Lorenzo Morovis river with her family, after the bridge was swept away by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico on September 27, 2017.

source

Gerald Herbert/AP

Of all the terrible storms this year, Hurricane Maria was the
deadliest to strike the
Caribbean, with more than 1,000 likely deaths in Puerto Rico, a
US commonwealth inhabited by roughly 3.5 million American
citizens. That estimated death toll stands in stark contrast to
the island's official tally of 64.

Much of Puerto Rico is still without power as officials try
to rebuild the island's electric grid, which was almost
completely destroyed, back up again from scratch.

7. Hurricane Jose

In the midst of the deluge of hurricanes that devastated parts of
the southern US and various islands in the Caribbean, Hurricane Jose, which formed in early
September, threatened to cause even more damage.

Luckily, it drifted far enough off shore to avoid causing much
harm, but it still forced evacuations and brought strong winds
and heavy rains to the Bahamas, Bermuda, and parts of the eastern
US and Canada.

6. North Korea

caption

North Korean launches a missile.

source

KCNA via Reuters

Trump's war of words with North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un has been one of the biggest stories of the year.

The rising tensions between the two foes, their threatening Cold
War-esque rhetoric, and North Korea's continued development of
its nuclear weapons program has many people on both sides of the
Pacific fearing a nuclear war.

5. Bitcoin Price

caption

Bitcoin is one of the hottest items this year.

source

Dado Ruvic/Reuters

Bitcoin's popularity has surged this
year as its value continues to rise and the promise of
cryptocurrency continues to inspire millions around the world to
join the exciting, yet risky venture.

On Sunday night, the excitement continued as Bitcoin futures went
live on Cboe Global Markets, the Chicago-based exchange group.
The virtual currency shot up more than $1,000
within the first 10 minutes of the new market to a price over
$17,000.

4. Hurricane Harvey

caption

Interstate highway 45 is submerged from the effects of Hurricane Harvey seen during widespread flooding in Houston, Texas on August 27, 2017.

3. Solar Eclipse

For the first time first time in 99 years on August 21, a
solar
eclipse crossed the US from coast to coast, making for
spectacular views of the celestial event of the century.

2. Las Vegas Shooting

caption

Concertgoers take cover as the Las Vegas gunman fires into the crowd.

source

David Becker / Getty

On October 1, a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel
in Las Vegas, killing 58 people
and injuring more than 500 more at a country music concert. It
was the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

The attack renewed America's ongoing debate over gun control,
with particular interest in the use of bump stocks, which allowed the
Vegas shooter to fire faster rounds.

1. Hurricane Irma

caption

Alfonso Jose, left, pulls his son Alfonso Jr., 2, in a cooler with his wife Cristina Ventura in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017.

source

AP Photo/David Goldman

Intense winds of 185 mph made Hurricane Irma the strongest recorded storm to
ever exist in the Atlantic, outside the Caribbean and the Gulf of
Mexico. Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated their homes in
the Caribbean and southern US. More than 100 died.

The storm's intensity, threat to the US mainland, and widespread
destruction made it the year's top trending news story in search.